When I finally step out and wrap myself in a towel, I avoid the mirror. I’m not ready to look too closely at the girl staring back, the one who feels like she’s standing on the edge of something dangerous and thrilling all at once.
Three days off. An unheard-of luxury. I pull on soft pair of sleep shorts and an oversized T-Shirt and retreat to the comfort of my couch,determined to drown my thoughts in my favourite TV show Friends and sugar. I tell myself I deserve peace. Normalcy.
My phone buzzes.
I expect Tate. I always expect Tate. Instead, my stomach drops.
Unknown
Hello, Little Heaven.
My breath stutters. I stare at the screen far longer than I should before my fingers move.
Emmy
Who is this?
The reply comes quickly, as if he’d been waiting.
Unknown
I’ve been thinking about you. How your hand fit in mine, how your breath fanned my lips. How good you felt against my body.
My hand trembles, and I drop the phone onto the coffee table like it might bite me. My heart is racing, my thoughts a mess. Khai! How did he get my number? Why does the idea that it’s him send heat curling low in my chest instead of fear?
I pace the kitchen, grounding myself with cold water and steady breaths. This is nothing, I tell myself. Just words on a screen. You don’t owe him anything.
Another buzz.
I don’t look.
Another.
Still, I resist, right up until avoidance feels harder than curiosity. I choose sleep instead, burying myself beneath blankets like they might shield me from him.
They don’t.
Morning comes with a sharp knock at my door. Insistent. Unforgiving.
When I open it, the hallway is empty.
Then I see them.
Flowers. Dark green leaves framing nine perfect magnolias, pristine and deliberate. My name is written neatly on the envelope tucked between them.
Miss Winters.
My fingers shake as I open the card.
Don’t ignore me, Little Heaven.
The room feels suddenly smaller. Colder. I glance toward my phone like it’s watching me.
I make my way over to the phone. Quick tap in the screen shows me 3 unread messages, from him.
Unknown
Are you ignoring me?
